1. Johnny Kalsi is a British Indian dhol drum performer residing in London.
23 Facts About Johnny Kalsi
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Johnny Kalsi rose to prominence as a former member of Transglobal Underground and the founder of the Dhol Foundation.
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Johnny Kalsi is a member of the Afro Celt Sound System and The Imagined Village.
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Johnny Kalsi's parents had emigrated to the United Kingdom from Kenya.
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Johnny Kalsi's grandfather had earlier moved to Mombasa from Punjab.
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Johnny Kalsi was the drummer in the orchestra as well as in a rock band in school.
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In 1995, Johnny Kalsi joined an emerging world music organisation founded by Peter Gabriel, based at Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire, England.
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Johnny Kalsi performed at a number of World of Music, Arts and Dance festivals around the world.
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Johnny Kalsi became the first dhol player to perform live with DJs, which appealed to younger audiences.
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Johnny Kalsi self funded his first tutorial classes in Slough, England in 1990.
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Johnny Kalsi took on the role of a sideman in addition to session work, and performed with the Afro Celt Sound System on their second album, Release, which featured Sinead O'Connor.
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Johnny Kalsi worked as a session musician for Fundamental and Transglobal Underground during the early 1990s, and later joined the Afro Celt Sound System.
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In 1999 Johnny Kalsi's drumming troupe, The Dhol Foundation recorded their first album.
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Johnny Kalsi drew upon his experience as a session player and his understanding of ethnic and western instruments to work as producer for the album.
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Towards the end of 2002 Johnny Kalsi worked with the teenage pop singer Avril Lavigne, when she recorded a cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".
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Johnny Kalsi was selected to give the track an ethnic Indian feel and add some light percussion.
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In early 2013 Johnny Kalsi took The Dhol Foundation to perform for Stand up To Cancer.
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Johnny Kalsi is a member of the Sikh Welfare Awareness Team and each week he donates some of his time to feeding and clothing over 300 homeless people each week and people living below the poverty line in central London.
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In July 2013, Johnny Kalsi was commissioned to curate a piece of music for HRH HM Queens' Coronation Gala Concert Festival, an event for Royal Crest Holders.
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Johnny Kalsi received an Honorary Fellowship Degree from Leeds College of Music in 2015.
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Just ahead of the release of the 5th album, Basant, in 2016, Johnny Kalsi took The Dhol Foundation to USA for their debut tour.
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In 2018, Johnny Kalsi was requested to open for a special concert for HRH HM Queens' 92nd Birthday.
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In 2021, Johnny Kalsi led six of The Dhol Foundation elite to lead in the Commonwealth flag together with ACM Gospel Choir at Westminster Abbey in London for Commonwealth Observance Day.